The Wilts and Berks Canal is a canal, originally in Wiltshire and Berkshire, England. Following county boundary changes its route now lies within Wiltshire and Oxfordshire.
The main canal was opened in 1810, but some branches were operating before this and others were added afterwards. The branch from Swindon to Cricklade linking there to the Thames and Severn Canal was opened in 1819 and known as the North Wilts Canal. Never a great commercial success owing to its narrowness and competition from rail and other canals, the Wilts and Berks Canal nevertheless operated for more than a century before being abandoned in 1914. Taffic had ceased in 1901 when the Stanley Aqueduct collapsed.
A preservation effort for what still remained began in 1977 and ten years later became a major restoration project. It is now planned to restore all of the extensive rural sections, and to construct new sections (including several new tunnels) where urban development has made the original route unavailable. By 2002 some 8 miles of the canal had been opened.
External links
http://www.wilts-berks-canal.org.uk/ Restoration project home page
Canals first saw use during the Roman occupation of Great Britain, and were used mainly for irrigation.
Canal boats proved more than adequate for this task, and so canals were constructed between industries, and between cities and ports, with vast amounts of materials from manufactured goods to coal and lumber being transported.
However, in the latter half of the 20th century the canals saw a rise in popularity through their use by holidaymakers, who often rented a 'narrowboat' and roamed the canals visiting places they passed through.
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